TommyDeVito

WRX Limited with CVT.

The Machine

From all the cars on the list, personally I'd go Golf R. I've been watching a ton of reviews on them lately and the cars seems fantastic, especially if you decided to ever start tuning it. Hell, I've been thinking of selling my S and my TL-S to pick one up.

darcyw

Golf R ALL DAY LONG.

no question, it is the only interesting car on your list. the ONLY one.

and as my wife tells me, I'm always right. If you care, here are the reasons why i'm right.

​​​​​​​1) BMW 428 grand coupe Xdrive- stupid looking, unbalanced rear
2) Lexus IS 300 F-sport- stupid looking grill
3) Mercedes C300- Merc isn't what it used to be
4) Audi S3- everyone drives an audi- i'm bored
5) Infinity Q50 Red Sport- meh
6.)Infinity Q50 3.0- meh x2
7.) Jaguar XE AWD- maybe...but its gonna break down and you'll cry at the resale
8.) Acura TLX
9.) Honda Civic Sport Touring hatch (yes a civic, I really like the look and need to see what a car 1/2 the cost is like)- interesting choice.
10) VW Golf R- WINNING!

darcy

berlinablackie

I once thought this way too and missed out on a lot of cool car opportunities because of this thought process.
The way I overcome this thought....I drive 12,000 miles a year, I only have business execs in my car for maybe 100 of those miles.
So who am I buying this car for? My 11,900 miles or those 20 business lunches where we usually go 5 miles?
After a slew of boring Hondas, Acuras, BMWs....I bought a 350z Touring convertible, then an STI, then a Merc coupe.

What I found out was, the execs are calling shotgun in my "fun" cars while the rest of the group heads to lunch in a boring lux sedan.
Heck, I once picked up my counterpart from China at the airport in the 350Z convertible. While he held his luggage in his lap, he requested top down and the long way to the office.
Yes the STi was perceived as a juvenile car and I got my chops busted a few times, but the fellas fought to ride in it to lunch.

So don't let the 'business meeting' excuse impact your decision in any great way. I don't know what you do, but your car shouldn't matter too much to that regard...
...unless you're in travelling sales...then the Z and Sti would be a bad choice. Hahaha.
Good Luck with your decision.

trcydaman

From your list, I like the BMW and the Lexus. You'll get different answers from different people since it's a matter of personal taste. In the end, you just need to go with the one you like despite what's posted here. Nevertheless, here's why I like the two I listed.

In addition to comfort and practicality, I want my DD to be a car that I wouldn't mind being stuck in traffic with. It needs to be something I still find comfort in despite having to step on the brakes every other min. At the same time, it also needs to be something that I look forward to when walking up to it every morning (i.e. fun to drive). I've had a Camry, Accord, and RSX as my dailies for years. And while they were bulletproof, they didn't make my commute all that better. Then I turned to a BMW F30 3 years ago. And I was very happy with the decision I made. I was considering CTS, IS350, and A4 at the time. And by far, the bimmer had a better engine/power delivery. Great low-end torque (which I think is a must for a DD) and just the right amount of power (240hp). Changing the drive mode to sport mode completely changes the throttle response and will give you a whole new driving experience. Seats are super comfy. My commutes are usually 1.5hrs 1-way and I never felt any discomfort in their seats. If I had to go back in time, I'd lease the F30 all over again as it brought joy to daily commuting. I live in NJ where traffic is horrendous during rush hours. But even with a manual transmission on my F30, I had fun commuting. And since you mentioned paddle shifters, my next lease will be an X3 xDrive and I tested its paddle shifters. It's pretty responsive and I had no complaints about it.
There's a reason why the 3-series ruled the luxury sports sedan market for the past few decades. I could see why after driving one. The downside is that you see everyone driving one (surprise). So if you're into exclusivity, it probably won't be your cup of tea. But I don't need my DD to be an attention grabber. With that said, there's always the issue with BMW reliability. I didn't have any problems with mine for the 3 years I had it, but I don't think I would ever finance one unless it's an M.

Next is the Lexus. Even though I ended up going with a BMW, the IS350 came in at a close second (real close). At the end of the day, I just couldn't get over its front grill. Other than that, it was a fantastic car that broke my prejudice against Lexus - great longevity, but boring af. I don't know how different it is from the IS300 you're considering, but like the bimmer, it had the right amount of power delivery for daily commuting. Traction control kind of neuters this car, so I'd turn that off if you're looking to have fun with it. Out of all the cars that I test drove, this one had the best interior. I loved its center gauge and the overall design of the center console. It 'felt' like I was getting my money's worth. And this was a car that I would have no problem financing since, well, it's a Lexus. But that grill though. If you don't mind the grill, I definitely recommend this car (I'd go for the 350).

Although I never drove the S3, I'd recommend you testing this one out as well. It's not an apples-to-apples comparison, but I drove my friend's S4 a few times. It's an amazing car. Tons of power, torque, and interior is elegant too. I was never hooked on Audis until I drove this car. I'm not sure if I'll be okay with my wife driving it though lol, which brings me to my last point. You also have to consider that it needs to be a car you don't mind your wife driving on-and-off.

Anyways, good luck with your search! Contemplating over which car to buy next is one of the best problems you can have

vader1

No hurry? Pick one of those and find a dealer that will give you a the biggest discount on European delivery for spring/summer. Totally worth it. Do the ring if you want. The Stelvio pass. See Europe in your new car. Europe has the best driving roads anywhere, and they have them by the dozen.

I got my 328i this way and dream about doing another ED.

bgoetz

how much do you save off of the price of the car going this route?

vader1

Well you have to find the right dealer because some won't pass the discount on to you. With BMW it is 5% (it used to be 7%). Audi and Mercedes have similar plans but I do not know the exact discount. Essentially the money I saved on the car was spent on two round trip tickets to Europe. But so I found a small volume BMW dealer in a more rural area that just wanted to make extra sales so I go about $5-6k off sticker if I remember correctly. I paid $500 over EUROPEAN invoice price, which was a few thousand under US invoice price. Go to Bimmerfest.com for more details.

With BMW you fly to Munich and go to The #Welt, which is their customer center. You check in, get tickets for the factory tour if you want it, tickets to the BMW museum, a small credit at the BMW/Mini gift shop, access to the very nice VIP lounge with free food and booze all day until they tell you your car is up. You go down to a big show floor with all the tourists watching you take delivery. You get two weeks of insurance and a lits of 13 or so cities in Europe you can drop your car at. I toured Switzerland, Germany and Italy, dropped the car at the airport in Nice France and flew home. Car was at my dealer 11 days later.

You can leave the car in Paris, Amsterdam, Zurich, blah blah. You get to plan your own dream trip and just get a ticket that flies into Munich and out of the city you want to end in. A few people on here have done it. They will all tell you the same. It. Is. Awesome. It is really fun and if you are going to drop $50k on a car, treat yourself a little. Everybody should get to do it at least once. BMW also does it on leases too if you look into one of those, but I am not sure how any discount would apply or if you just get to take a trip with the lease car.

trcydaman

I'll be doing an EU delivery for my next bimmer lease. Every time I read about an EU delivery experience at bimmerfest, I get really jealous haha. They all say it's a life altering event.

bgoetz

is there any downside? It does seem awesome!